Diabetic Friendly Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

(There seems to be some contention around the internet about whether or not agave is better than sugar for diabetics. If nothing else, agave is much sweeter than sugar, so you use far less. I'm no expert, so do your own research and make up your own mind.)

My parents came to visit a few days ago. I was asked to bring dessert. My father is diabetic, so I wanted to come up with something that wouldn't put him into a coma.

I've had lots of practice with vegan desserts and gluten-free desserts, but not with diabetic. I definitely did not want to use any artificial sweeteners like Splenda, because they taste awful and will probably give you cancer. Gross.

I eventually decided on making low-sugar peanut butter cups.

These were so damn good! No one would ever believe these were low-anything.

1 cup natural peanut butter (no sugar, no salt, just peanuts)

1/2 cup low-sugar graham cracker crumbs (make these vegan graham crackers and you've got yourself a vegan dessert)

Agave syrup to taste (If these were just for me, I would have stuck with 1 tsp, but since these were for family with sweeter teeth than my own, I used 1 Tbsp)

10 ounces very dark chocolate (look for around 80%) or sugar-free/grain-sweetened chocolate

Chop your chocolate into fine pieces and melt about half over a double boiler on low heat. Stir frequently and gently, do NOT let your chocolate get hot! If it's hot to the touch, it will taste burnt.

Spoon a small amount of chocolate into the bottom of your shell or paper liner. Using the back of a small spoon or a tiny pastry brush, coat the bottom and sides with a thin layer of chocolate. I used tins with pop-out bottoms, but they are tricky to unmold, paper or silicone liners would be much easier.

Place these in your fridge to set. While you're waiting, mix your peanut butter, crumbs, and agave (or other sweetener) until thick. Depending on the oiliness of your peanut butter, you may need a bit more or less crumbs to get a good thickness.

When your chocolate is hard, spoon the peanut butter mixture into the shells, leveling the tops as much as possible.

Melt the rest of your chocolate as before, then spoon a bit on top, on at a time, and knock them on the counter to spread it out and remove air bubbles.

Now if you're feeling fancy and have a little left over chocolate, you can make a piping cone from parchment, and pretty the tops up a bit (let them set in the fridge first).

This lady will explain how to make a parchment cone far better than I can.

 

When you're filling the cone, it's really helpful to have someone hold it for you, or place it in a tall glass to hold it steady.

Then drizzle over the top, or pipe some cute designs, maybe initials?

Seriously, these are extremely delicious, and while I doubt they could be called "good for you", they are far healthier (and tastier) than what you'll buy in the checkout lane. Try it out!